The uniqueness of glass for passive thermal management for optical fibers

Optical fiber‐based lasers and amplifiers are ubiquitous tools across many practical applications including communications, metrology, sensing, manufacturing, machining, and directed energy. Even for the most efficient cases where only a few percent of the optical power is converted into heat, this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of applied glass science 2022-07, Vol.13 (3), p.267-280
Main Authors: Ballato, John, Dragic, Peter D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplifiers
Fiber lasers
glass products
Heat generation
lasers
Machining
Optical fibers
Temperature effects
Thermal expansion
Thermal management
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Summary:Optical fiber‐based lasers and amplifiers are ubiquitous tools across many practical applications including communications, metrology, sensing, manufacturing, machining, and directed energy. Even for the most efficient cases where only a few percent of the optical power is converted into heat, this heat generation can have wide‐ranging detrimental effects on overall system performance. In homage to the 2022 International Year of Glass, this paper provides a new look into the enabling roles that glass can play in the fully passive thermal management of active fiber lasers and amplifiers. Partially didactic, complemented with new insights and novel approaches and results, specific topics include means by which glass compositions can reduce the amount of heat generated by an active dopant and how the glass’ response to heat generation, for example, thermo‐optic and thermal expansion coefficients, can be minimized or otherwise used to largely mitigate parasitic thermal effects.
ISSN:2041-1286
2041-1294
DOI:10.1111/ijag.16543